The GREEN Fairy Book - online children's book

Illustrated classic fairy tales for children by Andrew Lang

Then the witch flew into a great rage and screamed out, "What! you'll kill my dog, will you?" and the next moment he was turned to stone and lay there immovable, while his bride waited for him in vain and thought to herself, "Alas! no doubt the evil I feared and which has made my heart so heavy has befallen him."

Meantime the other brother was standing near the golden lilies at home, when suddenly one of them bent over and fell to the ground. "Good heavens!" cried he. "Some great misfortune has befallen my brother. I must set off at once. Perhaps I may still be in time to save him."

His father entreated him: "Stay at home. If I should lose you too, what would become of me?"

But his son replied: "I must and will go."

Then he mounted his golden horse and rode off till he reached the forest where his brother lay transformed to stone. The old witch came out of her house and called to him, for she would gladly have cast her spells on him too, but he took care not to go near her, and called out: "Restore my brother to life at once, or I'll shoot you down on the spot."

Reluctantly she touched the stone with her finger, andin a moment it resumed its human shape. The two golden lads fell into each other's arms and kissed each other with joy, and then rode off together to the edge of the forest, where they parted, one to return to his old father and the other to his bride.

When the former got home his father said: "I knew you had delivered your brother, for all of a sudden the golden lily reared itself up and burst into blossom."

Then they all lived happily to their lives' ends, and all things went well with them.*